


The Admiral's Daughter

by PerfectDisaster



Category: NCIS
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Old Flames, Old Friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:57:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6240265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectDisaster/pseuds/PerfectDisaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The daughter of a prestigious Navy Admiral is caught up in a murder investigation involving a man she so clearly despises. Her involvement with several of of the people involved could jeopardize the whole thing. Will she get involved or will she stay out of the way and let Gibbs and his team do their job?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Backstory

Reagan Leslie Carter is the daughter of a very prestigious Navy admiral named Mathew Todd Carter. She had a tough love kind of upbringing. Everything wasn’t handed to her on a silver platter, she had to work for the things she has and to get where she is today. Her mom was killed when she was 12. She was told that it was a robbery gone bad but as Reagan got older she started to question if that was actually true or not. (but we’ll get back to that later on.) Her dad wasn’t a bad dad but he wasn’t the greatest either. He missed a lot when she was growing up and that had a lot to do with his work. He was very dedicated to his work and didn’t think twice about missing family dinner or any of Reagan’s sports games. When he was around though he was loving and kind and you could tell how much he loved his family. Although he was quite open about how much he wanted a boy and ended up with a girl instead. 

In his eyes there were things that a boy could do that Reagan couldn’t but she didn’t believe that. Her mom always taught her that she could do anything that boys could do no matter what it is as long as she just tries. That is exactly what she did. All she wanted was her fathers approval and she was willing to do anything to get it. She graduated from high school with all A’s and she was the valedictorian. After that she went on to join the army at the age of twenty, where she served for fours years and did 3 tours of Iraq. She served as a marine for seven years and now she is a scout sniper for the Navy. All the years she’s been enlisted she’s been awarded the Navy cross, the Silver star, and the Medal of honor as well as many other awards and achievements. 

Some like to say that she is the best and others like to say that she is almost as good as one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Although some say she is more like SecNavs personal hit woman. I promise it’s not what it sounds like. She does the kind of tasks that you don’t usually hear about on the television. She’s given a task by SecNav, or on the rare occasion by her father although he knows about all aspects of her career, to deploy to different countries and track down known killers who fled or known terrorist groups operating overseas. Clean and quiet is how she prefers her tasks to go. She always works alone and has only ever had to work with someone else like twice. 

Her father being a life long friend of SecNav Porter and friends with several of her predecessors he knows pretty much everything there is to know about her career. With her fathers high status and the acquaintances/friends he knows, he is often invited to attend various dinners, luncheons, and even the occasional breakfast meeting at the White House. Reagan attends along side her father whenever she is able to, although she doesn’t like them very much and she thinks they can get awfully boring. 

Unlike her father tho she doesn’t want to go the politics route in her career like her father did. She likes the hands on field work where her father is content with sitting behind a desk and dealing with paperwork. Also unlike her father she fancies a very special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Her father does not. He especially despises the fact that Gibbs does not follow all of the rules and doesn’t go by the book. He is starting to see that his daughter may be developing feelings for the older field agent. He may not know that much about women but he does know his daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

It all started over a year ago with a simple ride home from the airport the day she got back from being on deployment in Baghdad.

“Well well, long time no see Jethro” Said Reagan as she approached him. Stepping in front of him she embraced him into a hug. She reveled in the feeling of his arms around her, and the musky sawdust smell that was him, making her all the more happy to be home. As they parted he took her bag and they headed out of the building to the parking lot and towards his car. 

Gibbs just gave her an exasperated look. “Really Ray its’ only been 7 months.” 

“Yeah 7 months to long. 7 months of not having take out dinner in your basement and driving you crazy with my endless chatter mouth!” 

Gibbs just chuckled at that knowing she wasn’t wrong. But also that he secretly enjoyed those moments.

“Seriously tho I want to thank you again for picking me up today. I know you were probably busy at work since it is 2 in the afternoon.” 

“It’s no problem and you know that. I would do anything for you, and you know that as well.”

They fell silent as they neared his car and Gibbs took that time to admire the beautiful woman walking next to him. She was sort of tall, standing at 5”7 almost 5”8. She was thin but had muscle on her but not the over bearing kind. The subtle kind, that let people know that although she was a female in a mainly male dominated profession, she could still pack a hell of a punch. She was simply beautiful. She had beautiful blue eyes that Gibbs noted turned a shade or two darker depending on her mood. A smile that could brighten anybodies day no matter how bad it was. He couldn’t decide what he liked more, her smile or her eyes. He noted that her cheeks had a shade of pink on them, having no doubt that she got the light sunburn from being in the sun overseas. 

They had known each other for quite some time, just about 5 years to be exact. In those five years it hadn’t always been the way it is now between the two. They didn’t exactly get along at the beginning of their friendship. That was because they were two very stubborn people who also happened to be as hard headed as the day is long. So of course they were not going to see eye to eye. 

While Gibbs was off in his own little world of reflection, Reagan was in a world of her own as well…kind of. Her mind was going off in all directions. From how although she was happy she was home, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to go see and have a talk with her father. He wasn’t the most gentle of men. To spending time with Jethro, and how their friendship had progressed over the years. 

She snapped out of it as they had reached his car and she got in and waited as Gibbs put her bag in the back. As they pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the highway Reagan couldn’t help but sit there and admire the man who had so easily taken over her heart and her thoughts. The whole 7 months she was gone, not a day went by that he wasn’t on her mind. The nights and endless hours they spent in his basement eating take-out or something she had cooked for him, talking about work or anything that had popped into their heads. Sometimes they didn’t even talk at all and they were both perfectly content with that. But of course how could she forget him building a boat in his basement, which he always seemed to be doing. She has absentmindedly giggled at that thought which had caused Gibbs to look over at her. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“Oh nothing I was just thinking about that boat in your basement and how youre always building something down there.” 

He chuckled. 

As they continued back to his house, she had left her car there because he had driven her to the airport, she fell back into the same train of thought as before. She started to think about how much time they had been spending together lately and if she was starting to read to much into it or not. I mean he does come over after work or I go to his house after work more often than not she said to herself. He comes over with take-out and vents about a case he’s working or I’ll pick up food or sometimes even cook him something to eat so he’s not stuck eating even more take-out or those god forsaken TV dinners. It seems like maybe there is something there. She pushes those thoughts from her mind and focuses on the now.

“So how was deployment?” he asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew what her answer was probably going to be.   
“Long and hot! I could definitely use a nice long shower and a wonderful nap in a nice comfy bed. Ooh and a good home cooked meal.” She threw a double meaning in there and was hoping that he would catch it but unfortunately he didn’t. But then of course that was one of the things that irked her so much about this man. She could read most people like an open book, including the intriguing man beside her. Sometimes tho she couldn’t, like now.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” she asked. 

Gibbs scoffed “how could I forget. You thought I was a cocky SOB who was to hard headed for his own good.”  
Laughing she heartily agreed. 

“And if I remember correctly you thought I was just a rich navy brat who’s daddy pulled all the strings and got her where she is now and she didn’t have to do any work herself. But you were wrong!” she ended laughing. 

Five years later and I am now realizing how wrong I was, he said to himself.  
The rest of the car ride was silent, except for the radio being on and Reagan softly singing along.  
Upon arriving at Gibbs house he ushered her to take a shower and try to get some rest considering she did look a bit tired. If he knew anything about being on deployment he knew she hadn’t sleep very well. She readily agreed to it, so after telling her that he had some work to finish up and would be back later, he kissed her on the side of her head and headed out. 

On his way back to the naval yard he couldn’t help but think about how natural it had become to have her around or expect her to come over. Even when he was in the basement working on his boat. He thought about how comfortable they were with each other to sit in complete silence, the only noise coming from him while he worked. 

After Gibbs had left she decided that a hot shower was desperately needed. So with that in mind she headed up stairs into Gibbs’ bedroom where she dropped her bag on the ground by the bed and headed into the bathroom. As she turned on the water and waited for it to adjust to the right temperature, she headed back out to his bedroom and took in her surroundings. Boy was she glad to be back! She headed back into the bathroom and climbed into the shower, reveling in the feeling of the steaming hot water hitting her tired achy body, and relaxing her sore muscles. Rinsing away the grime from traveling most of the night and morning. As she started to wash her body her mind began to wonder about how it would feel if it were Gibbs hands instead of hers. Feeling them run the soapy wash cloth down her sides all over her back, slowly massaging as he goes. Pressing soft kisses to her the top of her shoulder as he replaced the wash cloth with his hands and slowly ran them down her front towards a destination she so desperately wanted them at. But alas as she felt the water start to run slightly cooler she snapped herself out of her day dream and finished her shower. As she climbed out she wrapped herself in a comfy towel and picked up a second one to towel dry her hair and walked into the bedroom and picked up her bag. She decided to keep it light and comfortable and pulled out a black sports bra and semi sort matching black underwear, as well as some shorts. But as she was pulling them on she realized that she didn’t have a decently clean shirt to wear, so she decided on “borrowing” one of Jethro’s.

“Well crap, where on earth does that man keep his t-shirts” she said to herself.   
She searched first in the closet and found his suit jackets and work shirts and a few of his hoodies. She decided to check the dresser next and found with a stroke of luck the first drawer she opened she found one of his old t-shirts, it was black and kind of worn, and it had NCIS on the front and the emblem on the back. It was comfy and it also smelt like Gibbs. She couldn’t help but notice the warm feeling that spread through her whenever she thought about him. She contemplated making something to eat or taking a nap. She quickly decided to lay on the couch and read a book, figuring Gibbs probably only had tv dinners and she didn’t really feel like eating one of those. So she swiped a book from one of his shelves and curled up on the couch under a blanket and soon after she fell asleep. The book slowly falling out of her grasp and landing with a soft thud on the floor.

Once Gibbs arrived back at the naval yard, he was walking into the building when he and Dinozzo passed each other. As they passed each other Tony mentioned that all of the paperwork was done and that Mcgee should be done with his report, also that they needed him to sign a few papers. Walking into the bullpen he noticed that McGee and Bishop having a discussion. As Gibbs rounded his desk he noticed that the papers he was supposed to sign weren’t on his desk like Tony had said.   
“McGee where are the papers I’m supposed to sign?” he asked looking up.

“What papers boss?” McGee said with a slightly confused look on his face.

“The ones I’m supposed to sign McGee.”

“Oh right! Here sorry about that.” He said as he placed them in front of Gibbs.

“Have you finished that report yet?”

“Uh no not yet boss.” 

“The faster you finish the report, the faster we can all go home elf lord.”

Tony having returned to the bullpen and Bishop who had went back and sat behind her desk started to softly laugh at that statement. McGee shot them a slighty annoyed/exasperated look. 

“Right finishing that right now boss.”.

Several hours had passed and the final report had been finished and all the papers signed and filed away and everyone was able to go home. They had a few bumps in the road but those were all quickly sorted out. 

Dinozzo, Bishop, and McGee all left before Gibbs did but that wasn’t anything new that usually did that anyway.   
“Anybody else realize Gibbs was acting a bit weird since he got back from lunch earlier?” Tony asked.

“Yeah his mood did seem to be a bit lighter when he got back than when it was this morning” said McGee.

“He did seem to be in a chipper mood this morning but I wonder what could do that to his mood….or who could it be?”

“Oh Tony stop it! I doubt Gibbs is involved with someone.” Said McGee.

“Oh really then how about that mysterious woman with the Mahogany colored hair? Hm? I will say tho that she was quite beautiful.” 

Turning around giving the two men a serious look Bishop asked them “Why do you two care so much about Gibbs personal life?”

“Uhhh because he’s our boss…”

“And besides we’ve been working together for so long now that it’s only fair” Tony said with a shrug.

“You two are hopeless” said Bishop.

As Gibbs was headed back to his house, a thought crossed his mind about what Reagan had said in the car earlier; about how she would like a nice home cooked meal. So with that thought in mind he decided to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few things. As he got home he grabbed the bags out of the backseat and headed inside. He tossed his keys towards the table under the window on his right not really caring at the moment where they landed, and headed in towards the kitchen. As he was walking through the living room area he noticed that Reagan had fallen asleep on the couch. He had guessed that she had taken a shower judging by her change in attire. He smiled softly at the sight before him, she was laying on her back with an arm above her head and her other arm was across her stomach. She must have kicked the blanket off of herself because it was now only covering her lower calf and feet. He noticed that she was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of black shorts. He admired he appearance for the second time that day. Her long Mahogany colored was slightly curly from her shower earlier and although she was sleeping he could see that she looked refreshed already. Her long shapely, perfectly toned legs. He noticed that the black of the shorts stood out on her legs; although she did have a slight tan but she was still kind of pale. He softly covered her with the blanket and decided to let her sleep while he made dinner for the two of them. He may not be the best cook but he could handle certain things when it came to cooking. So with that thought in mind he set out to make them both a simple steak dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The italicized section is her flashback/dream and the *** are where it ends.

_“Gunny get up! You’re headed out with the boys” said commanding officer Brown. Jostled awake out of her cot, she was on feet in seconds._

_“Out where exactly Sir?”_

_“Into a nearby town off the secondary road, Lt. James sent a report over saying there was a disturbance. So we’re sending a handful of y’all out to “keep the peace” he said with a smirk, like he could care less._

_Reagan hadn’t bothered to change clothes or even take her boots off before she laid down, so she grabbed her gun and pack and followed him out already ready to go, headed to the humvee and the rest of the guys._

_“Uh sir? Not to be disrespectful or anything but couldn’t one of the rookies or new arrivals go in replace of me? Maybe stretch their legs a little?”_

_“Oh come on Ray! What you don’t want to be stuck with us boys for awhile?” Sergeant Aiden Knight joked._

_“Yeah Ray, maybe even get a little down and dirty with us for once!”Shouted Sergeant Kenneth Turner._

_“Oh would you two hush! No Aiden I don’t want to be stuck with you boys for “a while." You all make me want to pull my hair out if I spend long periods of time with y’all.”_

_All of them laughed, especially the boys knowing that, in the two short months they had already spent together, they loved to get on her nerves._

_You see they had all known each other from way back in there younger years. They all went to school together since first grade. Then shortly after they all graduated high school they all joined the military all the boys of course joined the Navy right off the bat where Ray went in to the Army and then Marines and now the Navy. So those boys’ getting on her nerves was nothing new._

_“Ken I’m going to show you down and dirty…”_

_“Oh Ray please do!” He interrupted._

_“By throwing your ass in that mud pit over there and weighing your ass down with center blocks” she finished. That caused everyone to start laughing all over again._

_“And I think we all know just what’s really in that mud pit!” she said as she approached him._

_Just before they could once again start laughing Commander Brown spoke up._

_“Enough! All of you! No Reagan a “rookie or new arrival” cannot go. Just because you do SecNavs bitch work and your high and mighty daddy and all his friends in high places got you were you are today with little to no work doesn’t mean you can get out of doing your job! You have to actually do some work around here just like everyone else here” he snapped._

_“Geez it was just a joke” she said under her breath._

_“What did you say?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_“Gear up you leave in 5!” He said, choosing to ignore her and walking away._

_“Geez Ray he really has it out for you” said Sergeant Jonathan Smith._

_“Yeah well one of these days he will get over himself” she said brushing it off. It still irritated her that people really thought her dad pulled strings and got favors from his friends to get her where she was in her career. Although on the outside I guess it looked like we had the kind of father daughter relationship where it would look like that’s something he would do. But it was actually the exact opposite of that._

_“So anyone know specifics on what exactly this “disturbance” is?” she asked changing the subject._

_“There was an attack on the women’s shelter early this morning around 0800…”_

_“It is almost two in afternoon and we’re only just hearing about this now!?”she interrupted._

_The shelter in town doubled as a school for the locals, although mainly orphaned kids and the ones at the shelter mainly used it. They had, had some trouble when they first started to build it a year and a half ago._

_“Ray calm down” said Aiden._

_“Apparently the report only just arrived” said Kenneth._

_She just gave both of them a frustrated look._

_“Can I finish now please!” said Oliver with a faked annoyed expression._

_“Go ahead” she huffed still pissed off._

_“Along with that report came another one, saying that there was a disturbance at the restoration site a few buildings down from the shelter.”_

_“Alright grab our ever lovely favorite medic boys and lets head out” she said as she let out a groan, feeling like they cannot ever catch a break these days. Before they climbed into the humvee’s they discussed how they were going to approach the situation when they got into town._

_“Clean and quiet is how I want this to go down. Don’t draw any unnecessary attention. Lets’ just get in do our business and get out.”_

_“Isn’t that how you like everything Ray, “clean and quiet.”” Ken joked Slapping him on the arm while chuckling she told him that the time for jokes was over for now._

_“Nice and easy like we always do” said Sergeant Benjamin._

_“Go in slow and easy and let them see that we aren’t there to hurt them.”_

_“You ready for this Joe?” Reagan asked Sergeant Joseph Mathew._

_This was Josephs first time back in six months after being sent on leave, after him and a group of three others were caught in a roadside attack on his last deployment. Everyone except for one of them made it that day and although Joe was okay he still felt slightly responsible for the young man dying. He felt that maybe there was something that he could have done but in reality there wasn’t._

_“You can sit this one out man, you don’t have to come” said Sergeant Jeff O’riley_

_“Don’t worry about Commander Brown, I’ll keep him off your back” said Reagan._

_“Guys I’m okay, really!” he said knowing that they were just looking out for him, though none the less still very thankful for having friends like them. Not once in the six months that he was gone, were they not there for him and trying to cheer him up or doing all they could to brighten up his day._

_“Well alright then guys let head out” said Jeff. They all climbed into their Humvee’s and headed out._

_It was a short hour/ forty five minute drive from the base to the town. They stopped just shortly after coming into the town and climbed out deciding it would be better to walk the short distance to the shelter and restoration site._

_“Alright guys keep your eyes open and your heads down” Reagan said over their radio._

_For the last several months they had been receiving reports from various patrols and others inside the city, of many disturbances coming from a town slightly larger than the one they were in now, just over fifty miles from where they are now. A known terrorist group called “The Peace Raiders” was behind just about every attack. They were not very happy that the American military was on their territory trying to “change” things. Instead of seeing the good the military was doing, they only thought they were trying to change their ways, but all they were trying to do was help them and give cities a chance. But the group was going around and trying to keep them from what they were doing by destroying things they had just rebuilt or threatening the locals, even hurting them if they even thought about helping or being involved with them. The small group that are here, are actually just a small piece of the whole organization. The entirety of the group was in a whole other location. It has yet to be discovered where the rest of the group is holed up. Of course the group has people everywhere though._

_The closer they got to the shelter Reagan got weird feeling in her gut that something was not right. Subconsciously she stiffened and her entire body became more alert._

_“Ray everything okay?” Ken asked, taking note in the change of her posture. Immediately alerting the rest of the guys to it as well._

_“Keep a sharp eye guys, something doesn’t feel right.”_

_“Yeah something feels a little off, think we should head back?”_

_Reagan hesitated for a moment before answering “No let’s just get to the shelter and get this taken care of as fast as we can.”_

_As they arrive at the shelter Reagan notices two small girls on the other side of the street who appear to be hurt. From what she can see of them they look to be young, the smallest girl has to at least as young as eight and the slightly taller one looks to be only slightly older maybe ten years old. The smaller one had what looked like burns covering a part of her arms and parts of her face as well as some nasty looking cuts. The older one had bandages on one side of her face and judging by the blood on her bandages she guessed that the wound was either fairly recent or had reopened. A few of the medics had gone into the shelter with Jeff and Oliver to see what had happened and tend to anyone who may or may not have gotten any injuries. Aiden, Joseph and Ken stayed out front to keep an eye on things while Connor and Ben we walking the sides of the building checking things out. No matter what Reagan did she couldn’t shake that feeling that she had._

_“Do a wider sweep of the area, keep your head down and your eyes open.”_

_“You said that earlier Ray, I think we get it” Sergeant Connor said while walking away._

_“Yeah well humor me Connor and actually listen for once.”_

_She decided to head over to the girls and check out their wounds and see if they needed any help. She grabbed one of the medics that was still outside and started to walk over to them._

_Mere seconds later and a few footsteps across the dirt road gun shots rang through the air and was coming from somewhere to their left. Unfortunately for them they were caught out in the open and the young man next to her took a bullet to the chest area in his vest and fell to the ground, or so she thought. She managed to catch him before he hit the ground completely and started to drag him while walking backwards towards where her other guys were. Kenneth and Aiden ran out to where she was and gave her cover fire while also simultaneously helping her drag the man to safety. They were using a pile of leftover metal and wood scraps that was there from when they were rebuilding what is now the shelter, as cover. Looking down at the young medic she quickly realized that the bullet hadn’t actually hit his vest, it went through his side and at the moment she couldn’t tell if it had exited his other side or if it was still lodged somewhere in his body._

_“Where a medic?” she yelled over the commotion._

_“They’re stuck inside with Jeff and Oliver! There’s no safe way to get out just yet, so they’re doing what they can from the inside.”_

_Turning her attention back to the young man on the ground she decided to take matters into her own hands. Upon inspecting his wound she realized that it did in-fact go through his side and out the other side as well. She knew by the look of this wound and the amount of blood he was losing, that he wasn’t going to make it especially without the help that he needs. So she did the only thing she could do, try to make him as comfortable as he could be and also let him know that he wasn’t alone._

_“What’s your name soldier?”_

_“Brad Weston ma’am” he said voice shaking slightly._

_“Nice to meet you Brad my names Reagan. Now I need you to listen up, as corny as this line is I’m going to say it to you any way. We’re going to get you out of here alright so you just hang on.”_

_Giving her a slight struggled smile he said “With all due respect ma’am you don’t have to lie to me. I know how bad my wound is without even looking at. I am a medic remember, and I have seen wounds like these before. I know I won’t make it. You know I’m just glad a pretty face such as yours is the last thing im going to see in a dull place like this.”_

_Having removed her sunglasses and the bandana from around her nose and mouth, that had been blocking out the dusty air, she smiled back at him. All she could do was hold him as she felt him take his last breath. Although she had tears in her eyes not one was shed. She would mourn a fallen comrade later but now was not the time, she had to figure out a way to get everyone out of there. Seeing movement out the corner of her eye she looked up and saw the two little girls still standing in the same spot and she knew she couldn’t leave them._

_“Get his body to the Humvee and get out of here! I’m going over there for the two girls which should also cause enough distraction for y’all to get out safely. Meet me at the back alley way behind those buildings” she said to Aiden._

_“No Ray it’s too dangerous, you’re going to get yourself hurt!”_

_“Well that’s a risk im willing to take, now go!”_

_As she got up and ran across to the girls she radioed to the other guys telling them what she had told Aiden. She managed to take out two of the shooters that were in the building in front of her while also taking one out in a side alley. Just as she reached the girls she felt a bullet graze the very top side of her thigh and tear through the skin. She simply pushed through the pain and grabbed both girls by the hands and took off between the buildings. Unbeknownst to her though there was a sniper on top of a building down towards the end of the street who had his eyes set on all of them. Originally aiming for her and missing once she bent down he decided to change his target and take out someone else._

_“I’m hit guys, think it’s a flesh wound though.”_

_“Hang on Ray we’re almost there!” said Aiden._

_As she made it to the back alley way she sent the smallest girl on her feet and slowly sank to one knee grimacing in pain. She could see that the better part of her leg was covered in blood and she could slowly start to feel herself starting to lose consciousness. She heard the faint sound of a vehicle approaching and only prayed that it was her guys. With one last look at the scared little girls faces she blacked out completely._

***

As she woke up she was momentarily disoriented forgetting where she was and whose house she was in. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned to grab her gun off the coffee table only to realize that it wasn’t there and that in fact that wasn’t her coffee table either. Upon realizing that she finally looked up seeing Gibbs standing in the dining room with an amused expression on his face.

Sitting up and stretching “what time is it?” she asked yawning.

“About quarter to seven” he said looking at his watch.

“Oh when did you get home? I didn’t hear you get home and what is that smell?”

“Six o’clock and that smell would be dinner” he said heading back to the kitchen.

“Well it smells so goo…wait! You cooked me dinner!?” she faked a shocked expression.

“Yeah I cooked dinner. What’s so shocking about that?” he said laughing.

“For a man who usually eats take out or TV dinners, it’s just funny to see you cook, refreshing but funny.”

“Hey I don’t always only eat that. I eat other stuff too.”

“Oh forgive me, I left out a few things like the diner and the food I make for you right.”

“See, I don’t always eat only take out or TV dinners.”

“You’re helpless Jethro.”

“Not completely” he mumbled.

They both looked up at each other and chuckled at their playful banter.

“Well it’s ready so come and get some.”

“Ooh goody cause I’m hungry!” she said just as her stomach growled “But first I have to pee” she told him as she dashed off towards the bathroom.

Gibbs just chuckled at her response; leave it to her to be blunt about things. He thought back to when she had woken up and the way that she had reacted. He had been on his way to wake her up when it happened and he wanted to ask her about it. As much as she had tried to hide it though Gibbs knew that something was weighing on her mind and troubling her. He wasn’t exactly sure just what was bothering her though he did have a thought on what might be the cause. He was thinking that the cause might have something to do with what happened during her deployment. No one knew much about what happened other than that they were caught in an ambush and they lost two men, the rest was kept under wraps. He knew that if he waited patiently she would come and talk to him whenever she was ready too, but in a way he was hoping that it would be soon.

As she returned from the bathroom Gibbs was setting plates of food on the table. It was a mouth watering site to her, nice juicy piece of steak, that was no doubt perfectly made and seasoned, with green beans and mashed potatoes arranged around it. As he was doing that she walked over to the fridge and a grabbed the A1 steak sauce and a couple beers and walked over to set them on the table. Then finally came the moment when she got to taste the meal that smelt amazing. Let me tell you it was as mouth watering as it looked. As Gibbs sat across from her eating she could see him periodically glancing at her and she could tell that he probably wanted to ask her something but was waiting for her to come to him about it first. She leaned back in her seat and gave him that I know something’s on your mind look.

“I know you want to ask me something Jethro. That or you’ve just got something on your mind.”

“No I’m not asking the questions this time. I know that there is something that is bothering you, but I also know that you will come to me and talk whenever you’re ready.”

She knew that he was right and part of her hated that he was able to read her so easily. What happened to her and her guys in Baghdad and the men she lost was still weighing heavily on her mind. In a way she felt ready to talk about it, though she still felt a little apprehensive about bringing it up. She had dealt with it in her own way but even that didn’t help as much as confiding in someone else probably would. She knew that he knew about that ambush, that had been reported in the news but the rest of what happened had been kept out of the media.

“No need for me to take a guess, you know about the ambush correct?”

With only a slight nod of his head he agreed.

“Well…” she began and told him of the flashback/dream she had while she was sleeping.

“That’s why I woke up the way I did and reacted that way.”

“Ray most of what you just told me was in the news report that everyone saw about the ambush. What else happened that you haven’t told me yet?”

Just as she was about to respond her phone that was lying on the coffee table started to ring. “Sorry one sec” she said holding up one finger.

“Reagan Carter” she said answering it.

“Reagan, nice to hear from you, even though I had to call you myself” the man said his tone clipped and stern.

She hesitated a moment before she answered realizing who she forgot to call and just what she was supposed to do once she got back.

“Dad hi, yeah sorry about that, Gibbs picked me up at the airport and I just kind of crashed at his place, I was so tired.”

“I’d like it if you came to the house, there’s a few things that we need to talk about.”

“Uh now dad? I’m kind of in the middle of dinner, can’t this wait until tomorrow morning or something?”

“No Reagan it cannot wait until tomorrow. Had you either called or come to the house once you got back like we discussed then I wouldn’t be interrupting your evening now would I? I expect you at the house within the hour.”

Sighing with defeat she simply said “okay I’ll be there soon” and hung up. Looking back at Gibbs with a defeated expression on her face they both knew that their evening had been cut short.

Gibbs knew that when it came to Navy Admiral Mathew Carter, you didn’t keep him waiting; in fact you didn’t make him wait at all. He was a very strict man and judging by her facial expression and having heard her say dad he could tell that she had to go and that the admiral wasn’t very happy.

“I have to go, the Admiral wants to talk.”

“I thought that might be the case.”

Having said that she went upstairs and gathered up her things and then headed back downstairs.

“Thank you for dinner it was so good” she said smiling at him.

She grabbed her keys from the table under the window and he grabbed her bag as they headed out to her car. Just before they reached it she unlocked it and he walked past her and put it in the backseat. After doing that he opened her door for her so she could climb in.

But before she did that she turned around and thanked him once again for today.

“Thanks for listening tonight Jethro.”

“Front doors always open Ray” he said smiling.

She smiled sweetly at him “Breakfast at the diner tomorrow morning? Maybe continue our talk from tonight, say usual time?”

“Yep, I’ll be there” he said as he leaned in to hug her.

As they both were leaning out of the hug, it felt like one of the cliché movie moments to Reagan or at least it seemed like it was going to be that way. They were finally going to have a moment together, even though it may be small; no one was going to interrupt them. At least they weren’t going to let anyone interrupt them. They were going to kiss, and in Reagan’s opinion he was taking too long! She had been ready for this moment and little did she know that he had been ready for this moment as well. Cupping her face softly in his hands he tilted her head up and finally rested his lips on hers. As she expected his kiss was soft but firm and controlled. Falling even deeper into the passionate kiss she wrapped both arms around his neck as both his hands went to rest on her waist, as he pulled her closer. Breathless they pulled out of the kiss and smiled at each other.

“I should go, don’t want to keep the Admiral waiting. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

“Okay”

With one last kiss she climbed into her SUV and headed to her father’s house.

After Reagan left Gibbs headed back into the house, he decided to clean up the dirty dinner dishes and put there bottles in the recycling bins. After finishing that he decided to head down to the basement to work on his boat. He was only about as far as the base of the bottom of the boat done so he picked up the sandpaper and started to finish smoothing out the wood. As it was still fairly early only about 9:30, Gibbs received a phone call, he was wondering just who would be calling him. Picking up his phone he recognized the number immediately as the caller being none other than Doctor Samantha Ryan.

“Ryan?”

“Jethro, hi how are you?”

“I’m fine doc, is there a reason you’re calling me at almost 10 at night?”

“Well I’m back in town, starting at my old office tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to have breakfast tomorrow morning? Maybe catch up?” “Sorry doc already got plans.”

“Alright, no problem we’ll just do it another time then.” “Uh yeah another time.” “Well I’ll let you go, bye Gibbs.” And with that she hung up the phone before he had the chance to answer.

Tossing the phone onto his work place counters in the corner of the basement he just brushed off the call and picked up the sandpaper and got back to work on the boat. He spent most of the night down there working before he decided to head back into the house and go to sleep.


End file.
